Morey: "McHale will experiment with Asik at C and Dwight at PF"

DH is the best (or 2nd best) defensive big man in the NBA. In what universe do you think he'll have trouble guarding PFs? If anything, PFs are easier to guard than Cs, which is why most players prefer the PF position rather than the C.

 

Dwight has foot speed,but he is not used to this role. He will get in foul trouble. Asik won't be able to finish around the basket.

 

Dwight Howard actually did start next to big centers for a few years: Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie. Dwight was arguably the "PF" in those starting lineups.

Those teams were not as good as the later Orlando teams with the likes of Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson next to Howard. So, it may well be that Dwight plays best and his teams are at their best with a floor spacer next to him, but these teams also had a very young Dwight Howard (so likely not as good) and coaches who were not as good as Stan Van Gundy.

 

Howard is not a PF. His foot speed is very good for a center but only below average to average for PFs. He can't shoot, has no game outside of the paint.

Howard being listed as the PF really only means he'll be guarding opposing 4s. Otherwise he and Asik will have very similar roles. Lots of screening, rim running, hand-offs, etc...

If we ignore the fact that the Grizzlies were not a particular good offensive team, Gasol and Z-Bo still are a poor comparison for Howard-Asik, because Gasol is an excellent passer and good shooter from the high post. This is true for neither Dwight or Asik, which limits you a great deal in the things you can do offensively. Less spacing. Can't run high-low sets (nearly as well).

IMO a better comparison would be Faried-Koufos. Dwight obviously isn't quite as aguile/quick as Faried and I question whether he'd be able to guard quicker 4s on the perimeter.
I do think Dwight & Asik can co-exist in stretches, but it's hardly an ideal fit.

 

Not sure about Cato, but I'm quite certain that Tony Battie was playing PF when Howard was in the game. On offense anyway, as unlike Asik or Howard, Battie actually had a decent mid-range game.

 

This could be beneficial against bigger low post teams like the Grizzlies, Spurs, Thunder, etc but it has to be the Terrence/Donatas show against the Warriors, Clippers, Nuggets

 

And if the experiment fails...?

 

Howard can play PF, it'll just depend on his offensive development, how much he actually plays it. If you're going to play them together, it makes sense to play Asik at C instead.

 

Howard being the pick setter and guy rolling to the basket with Asik hanging at the rim for a potential easy dunk from a Harden pass is about the only effective offensive play I can comprehend

 

I have to say this but the label PF and Center don't matter, at least not in today's NBA. Just look at Dwight and Asik as the front court players who will guard the opposing team's bigs and offensively Dwight will get the majority of touches relative to positioning that is successful to him, as a center.

 

It's training camp.

 

Grizzlies and Pacers seem to play with 2 low post bigs in the starting line up just fine.

 

McHale and maybe Morey(?) already said they'd experiment with it a while ago.

Doubt it'll work.

 

Difference being that both West and Gasol/Randolph can hit the mid-range J

 

Maybe I missed something, but you do realize DH is one of the few big men able to compete in the slam dunk and not make a total fool of himself, right? So you're saying the guy who could jump high enough to post a sticker of himself at the top of the board and dunk from the ft line isn't quick and athletic enough to guard PFs? What about Tim Duncan, the aforementioned ZBo, LMA and other stretch 4s like Patpat/MM/Anderson? You think those guys have better foot speed and athleticism than DH? And those guys won't even have the luxury of having Asik at center.

As far as offense goes, I'm not really worried about that because with harden, Lin and Parsons we already have 3 guys who can create their own shot, create for others, and can't be left open on the perimeter. Plus the offense can take a hit anyway, with DH and Asik our defense will already be among the top in the league.

 

Lin
Harden
Parson
Howard
Asik

Thing of beauty if it works.

 

Someone of those 2 has to develop the bank shot or the jumper

 

I knew this would happen! Well let's throw it up against the wall and see what sticks!!!

 

They would be crazy to not try this. I think it has a great chance of working.